Pneumatic tire.



I. l; WEBSTER.

PNEUMATIC TIRE.

APPLICATION min umza, |915.

Eiga WITNESSES INI/EN T01? )L r mmm-frs mns Puras, mc., Lmw. wumnawa. D. c.

Patented '3, 1915.

l To all 'whom it may col/wem:

iran estaras! Partnr carica.

J. WESTER, F BAVEBHILL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 RELIANGE A. C.

contraint, iNo., or Niiw Youn, N. Y., 'A CORPORATION or New Yoan PNEUMATIC TIRE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 3, 191th?.

driifliiai application filed cerchi-.r 21, 1914, serial No. 867,697. Divided and this application una starch as,

vBe it known that I, IRA J. WEBSTER, a citiy zen of the United States, residing at Havel;-

I,hilhin thecounty of'EsseX and State of "Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pneumatic Tires, of which the following is a full, clear,

and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichv it apperifo tains to makeY and use the same.

This invention. relates to tires, and with respectto its morel specific features, to pneumaticy adapted to be utilized in or as tires.

` One Aof.v the objects of the invention is the provision of a pneumatic tire offering a relatively high resistance y'to puncture and adapted to yautomatically operate to close or seal pi'inctures.

Another 'object -of/,the invention is the provision of a durable tire of' the character described 'of a simple andinexpensive construction'.

.i 4 'Another object of' the invention is the -pi'olio' vision of aneiicient pneumatic tire `of the' character described which Vshall'be relatively li ht in weight,\and yet retain the qualities o? resistance to puncture and the automatic closing of punctures as'referred to.

Other objects will be in part obviousyand' in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of ele- ,ments and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified inthe construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the applica-tion ofwhich will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views, Figure l.. is a sectional view mandrel with the tire or tube formed thereon. Fig. 2 illustrates the tire or tube when stripped from the mandrel, and after reversal. F ig. 3

illustrates the tire or tubev after having been reversed and inflated. Fig. 4 is a plan of a portion of the tire orf'tube partly broken away; and Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of a'fportion of the tire or tube shown in Fig. 3, buty enlarged for clearer disclosure.4

This' application is a division ofapplicants applicatiom'Serial No. 867,697, led October 21, 1914.

Serial No. 16,348.

when in use a portion of the material composing the same is placed under compression. Pneumatic tires are usually made of rubber, and when the saine are in ated, portions; thereof usually assume a curved or arcuate form. If the material of the tire is unrestralnedunder the inliuence of the pressure or inflation it is placed in a state of tension and it follows that such material when perforated under suchl condition has a tendency to separate at the punctured point. Thus the puncture has a tendency to enlarge. By the present invention, however, a portion ofthe tire is placed under compres sion 'upon inflation and the compressed part not only tends to resist puncture to a greater degree than a tire entirely under tension, but .also the part under compression automatically operates to close a puncture made therein.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the numeral l indicates a tireor an inner tube which may form a part of a tire, as the case may be, of elastic material,

rubber being preferred, and vpreferably also a portion of this tube is thickened as at 2,

. said thickened portionbeing disposed oppoortion of the tirey and also site the tread providing amp e material for the. coperation of threads, hereinafter referred to, which threads are employed for eiiiciently obtaining and retaining the compression referred to.

The numerals 8, 3 indicate a series o in-l dependent or disconnected members which are so associated with the tire or tube as to cause portions thereof to be compressed Vwhen the tire or tube is inilated. Although non-extensible members might be employed in some instances, and areV within the purview of this invention, members having Asome degree of extensibility possess distinct advantages in relation to the invention. Hence in the embodiments herein specifi- Vat cally disclosed these members are provided bypractically inelasticthreads of cord oi'V twine, the same having some natural extensibility and having slilicient tensile strength to withstand the strains of iniiati'on or the.

strains inv use without parting where they extend transversely of the tire. in the pres-z. entembodiment, the threads 3, Spare eme-gf.

'I bedded in the rubber of the tire adjacent the edges, as at 4:, 4:, of the tread portion thereof, and they extend transversely of the tire opposite said treadV portion, and 4,preferably are also embedded in the .tire opposite said.

tread portion, so that in the vembodiment illustrated, said threads are embedded in the tire throughout their 4length andv throughout the Width of the tread. These threads are so disposed relatively to each other as to permit the material of ther tire to contact' therewith throughout the length ofthe thread atv all embedded points, this result being Afacilitated by spacing the adja* cent threads relatively to each other longi tudinally ofthe tire, the material of the tire entering i-nto the spaces between the adjacent threads and serving to preserve their spaced relationship. The threads 3, 3, may be drawn through an adhesive substance ,ben fore 'being placed in the tire, said substance serving to `assist in retaining the threads in position."

Theen'ds of the threads 3, 3, are prefen ably'7 located adjacent the` edges of the tread of the tire and are embedded in the rubber .adjacent said edges, preferably somewhat deeper than are the intermediate portions, said intermediate portions lying nearer the outer surface of the tire. In this way all the tire compressing threads are securely retained opposite the tread portion and are buried in the tread to such an extent as-not to be exposed to Wear. By reason of the ends lof the threads being longitudinally separated'from the ends of adjacent threads, it follows that vshould suflicient wear take place to expose the ends of certain threads, any separation of such exposed ends from the rubber material ofthe tire would not afect the ends of adjacent threads. Hence, if the end of one thread were peeled from the tire, the peeling of adjacent threads would not necessarily follow. This advantage is `a substantial one as the lasting qualities of the tire are more or less dep^ndent thereon.

The tire or tube above described may be made' in any suitable manner which will effect the objects sought. In Fig. 1 is shown a cylindrical mandrel 5, on which the rubber ltube or tire may be built up by successive vlayers or portions of rubber vulcanized to each other so as to present a practically integral structure. After some thickness has been attainedthe threads referred to may be laid in position, whereupon additional layers of rubber are placed in position over the thread, the tube being thus v thickened at ythe portion occupied by the thread', this' thickened portion being designed t'obe opposite the tread portion of the tire. The tube so made is stripped from th'emandrel. and-turned inside out, Whereyupon it when not i'nated may assume a,

shiip'e 'such as shown in Fig. 2. lt is than ready tobeginated, and when inflated the transversely disposed threads cause the material` orrubber of the tube to be placed under compression on the inside as between the points 6 and 7, around the tire at the thickened portion. The amount of `compression `will of course depend more or-less by the threads may be at any radial point.

in the thickness of the tire or tube, but is preferably somewhat farther from the inner than the outer surface, so as to provide yon the inside ample volume of rubber. to.

be compressed. On account of the fact that the tread of the tire has a tendency to wear more quickly adjacent the edges, theen'ds of the threads may be embedded somewhat deeper adjacent said edges as previously referred to. .Y

It is of course to be understood that the threads may be placed at other `portions .of the tire than opposite the tread, either by employing another set or sets of. threads or by extending the tread threads transversely' farther around the tire. In this manner the compressive effect adjacent the tread may be maintained, while the resistance of other parts of the tube or tire to blow-outs'is increased. v

Thus bythe above described construction are accomplished, among others, the objects hereinbefore stated.

Having described my invention, what I` 'therewith at all .embedded points.

2. In a pneumatic tire, in combination, a.

tread portion, and a series ofitransversely disposed disconnected tire compressing threads opposite said tread portion, adjacent threads being spaced f'rom eachother lon.-` gitudinally lof the tire.

3. In a pneumatic tire, in combination, a

tread portion, anda vseries of transversely disposed disconnected tire compressing threads oppositelsaid tread porti adjacent threads beingspaced from feas" other longitudinallyof the tire and having p0rtion's embedded in the tire. y A v n 4. in pneumatic tire, in combinatiin,

a tread portion, and a series of transversely disposed disconnected tire compressing threads opposite said tread portion, adjacent threads being spaced from each other longitudinally of the tire and having p0rtions embedded in the tire adjacent the sides of the tread. Y

5. In a pneumatic tire, ,in combination, a tread portion, and a serieslof transversely disposed disconnected tire compressing threads opposite said tread portion, adjacent threads being spaced from each other longitudinally of the tire and having portions embedded in the ltire between the sides of the tread.

G. In a pneumatic tire, in combination, a tread portion, and a series of transverselyv disposed disconnected tire compressing threads opposite said tread portion, adjacent threadsbeing spaced from each other longitudinally of the tire'and having portionsembedded in the tire throughout the Width of the tread.

7. In a pneumatic tire, in combination, a tread portion, and a series of transversely disposed disconnected tire compressing threads opposite said tread portion, adjacent threads being spaced from each other longitudinally of the tire, the ends of said threads being embedded in the tire.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature, in the presence of two Witnesses.

IRA J. WEBSTER.y

Witnesses:

C. H. DUELL, Jr., HERBERT F. HARTWELL. 

